RECOGNIZING OUR MOTHER TONGUES

Just recently, Cultural Day was observed in Nigeria and may as well seem like marking it for celebration-sake which at the end of the day has no effective impact on the society. Well yet another year’s celebration, it is necessary to reflect on some aspects of our culture. Aspects of our culture that have almost gone into extinction, such as mode of dressing, dialects (mother-tongue), traditional rites. But one area we would be looking at is concerning our diverse dialects.
An ambassador of China was once opportune to address a gathering of top government functionaries from around the world. Expectedly, one would have thought he expressed himself in the widely recognized language – English, but opted to speak in his native dialect. He is definitely proud of his local language.
However several years after independence, numerous countries are yet still under language colonization. In the continent of Africa specifically in Nigeria, there is still this mentality that expressing oneself in the local dialect portrays one as an illiterate. In our education system, Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo are not only seen as inferior subjects but also regarded to have no meaningful impact in one’s future endeavour. Majority of the students taking these subjects at secondary school levels do so with the intention of just getting a “pass” in them without realizing the true essence of those subjects. In recent times there have been various calls for preserving our culture especially our local languages by those we refer to as great minds of intellects in our society, among whom we have Prof. Wole Soyinka, Prof. Peter Fatomilola, Chief Adebayo Faleti. In their candid opinions, if we don’t appreciate and attach value to what we have, nobody would do that for us. Foreign languages are supposed to complement our primary (native) dialects. Consequently, some improvements have been cited in our music industry where artistes are now proudly expressing themselves in their native ways. Big-Ups to Lord of Ajasa, Da Grin, Cash 11, T-Izze, AY, and a host of others representing the motherland. Same revolution should be experienced in the education sector, giving us somethin’ to cheer within the family setting and I believe the time change is now!